Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 30,430, Oliver Gates, Mass.

SERVICE
Mass
Gates, Oliver
NUMBER
S.30430
CONTENTS

10.422 Massachusetts
Alvin Gates
of Middlesex in the State of Mass who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Rice of the Regt. commanded by Col. Butler in the Mass line for 6 months
Mid-
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 20 Dollars — Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 6th day of April 1823 and sent from Hobbs & Cambridge Mass
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $40.00 Semi-annual allowance ending Sept 4, " 10.00
$50.00
{ Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832.
Recorded by Adon Clerk Book E Vol. 2a Page 28
87 Middlesex

Oliver Galt
No 5419.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Middlesex ss.
On this eighteenth ————— day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two, personally appeared in open Court, before the Honourable Judge of the Court of Probate, in and for the County of Middlesex aforesaid, now sitting, Oliver Gates a resident of Stow ————— in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, aged seventy nine ————— years, who, being first duly sworn according to law, doth, on his oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress, passed June 7, A. D. 1832:
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated: That in the year 1776 as he thinks in October he voluntarily enlisted for three months in the town of Stow and marched from thence to Providence. The Col. name was Samuel Shatner of Cambridge and the Capt. name was Nathaniel Maynard of Sudbury 1 st Lt name was Thomas Whitman of Stow. The 2 d Lt name was Jonathan Weeks of Marlborough from Providence we went to White Plains from thence to West Point from thence to New Jersey and sometime in the month of February was dismissed. In 1777 in the month of August as he thinks he again enlisted in the town of Stow for the term of three months to go to Bennington in the State of Vermont thence joined the army and from thence we marched to Trenton and from thence to the White Plains and there discharged. The Col. name was Butler The Capt. name was Jonathan Rice of Sudbury 1 st Lt was Samuel Hosburn of Stow.
Oliver Gates
And the said Oliver Gates says that was born in the year 1753. That this is as he supposes a record of his age in the town Book in said Stow that he was living at Stow at the time he was called in to the service and that he has generally lived in said Stow. That he volunteered to serve. He does not recollect any officers other than those already named. That Augustus Fawler of Stow can testify that he has had the reputation of being a revolutionary soldier.
Oliver Gates

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any state,
Oliver Gates
We, John L. Sibley a clergyman, residing in the Town of Stow and Augustus Towner residing in said Stow hereby certify, that we are well ac- quainted with Oliver Gates who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; — that we believe him to be seventy nine years of age: that he is reputed and believed, in the neighbourhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
John L. Sibley Augustus Towner
Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above-named applicant was a Revolutionary soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certify, that it appears to them that John L. Sibley who has signed the preceding certificate, is a clergyman, resident in Stow and that Augustus Towner who has also signed the same, is a resident in Stow and is a credible person; and that their statement is entitled to credit.
Isaac Fiske  J. C. [unclear]  W. [unclear]
I Isaac Fiske Register of the Court of Probate in and for the County of Middlesex, do hereby certify, that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Oliver Gates for a pension.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office on the day and year first aforesaid.
I also certify that Moses Whitney & John Hayer whose own proper signatures are to the Dispositions of Phineas Moore & Asa Putnam were annexed, are just true copies of the original within & for said county of Middlesex. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office the day of year aforesaid. Isaac Fiske

I Phinehas Moore I testify and say I was a private soldier in the Revolutionary army, in the Company commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Hynman - it, in the Regiment, commanded by Col. Samuel Thatcher, Oliver Gates of Stow was a private soldier in the same Company we marched from home about the last of October 1776. to the Town of Woodbridge in New Jersey where we were discharged about the last of January or the first of February 1777. and for that the deponent saith not
Phinehas Moore
Middlesex ss. August 14 th 1832
Then the above named Phinehas Moore personally appeared and made solemn oath to the truth of the foregoing Deposition by him subscribed
Before me Moses Whitney Justice of the Peace
I also certify that Phinehas Moore who signed and made oath to the above affidavit before me is a credible person & entitled to belief - Moses Whitney Justice of the Peace

I am Putnam of Stone in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts aged twenty four years in September next testify and say that I am well acquainted with Oliver Gates of said Stone and was a private in a company commanded by Jonathan Dine with said Gates who was also a private in the same company in the army of the Revolution in the year 1777 we marched to Bennington Vermont in August of that year and I re- mained about six weeks in said company with said Gates when I was discharged on account of sickness and left the company and said Gates in the company, how long said Gates served after I left I do not know - H. A. Putnam
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Middlesex ss. August 18 1832 ->
Then personally appeared the above named Asa Putnam and made oath that the foregoing affidavit by him subscribed is true. I also certify that said Putnam is a credible witness -> Before me
John Keyes Just. of Peace 3

N o 5.419
Oliver Gates.
Private 6 Months
16 416 06
20 Dec 1832
J. Fiske Esqf.
E. Lamb: Map.
D up D

BRIEF in the case of Oliver Gates of the County of Middlesex in the State of Mass. (Act 7 June, 1839.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Court  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 79 years.  4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
   Period. Duration of Service. Rank. Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.   Years, Months, Days. As a Gen.     In 1776 Oct. — 3 — Private Col. Thatcher, Capt. Maynard   " 77 Aug. — 3 — ditto Col. Butler, Capt. Rice  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? none  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Stow  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Depositions  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect?  Regular 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Levin Belt Examining Clerk.

L. W. B. I. 30430
am This Bureau can furnish the military record of only such Revolutionary soldiers as were pensioned or whose widows were pensioned for their services.
Such of the original muster and pay rolls of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 as are now in the possession of the Government are on file in the Record and Pension Office, War Department. Original rolls and other records pertaining to service in the Revolutionary War may also be found on file in the archives of many of the original States.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
BUREAU OF PENSIONS,
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
O. W. & N. DIV.
REVOLUTIONARY.
April 25, 1898.
Madam:-
Replying to your recent communication you are advised that Oliver Gates made an application for pension on August 18, 1832, at which time he was 79 years of age and residing at Stow, Mass., and his pension was allowed for six months' actual service as a private in the Mass. troops, Revolutionary war; a part of the time he served under Capt. Rice and Col. Butler. He enlisted at Stow, Mass.
Very respectfully,
Commissioner.
Miss Nellie Bates Fitch,
256 West Fifth Street,
Elmira, N. Y.

Elmira, N.Y.
April 18, 1898.
U.S. Bureau of Pensions, Washington, D.C.
Will you kindly send me whatever infor- mation is obtainable in regard to one Oliver Gates, who enlisted into the service of the United States in February or March 1776 , at Preston, New London Co., Conn. I have a part of a "Declaration in order"

to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7th, 1832." Will you please state if such a pension was granted, and what was the ser- vice for which was ren- dered. At the time of the application Oliver Gates was a resident of Springfield, Brad- ford Co., Penna - All information

will be duly appreciated -
Yours truly, (Miss) Nellie Gates Fitch -
256 W. Fifth St. Elmira, N.Y.

30 430 Ray INVALID.
Apr 25 '91 Miss A. R. ... ... ..  File No. 80-305  Oliver Eaton  His Res. etc.  Act: June 7 th 32 nd  Index: — Vol. 2 , Page 122  [Arrangement of 1870.]

N. 5419
Oliver Gates
 THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 
 中國文化研究叢刊 
J. Fiske Esq.
E. Lamb e , Mass.

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Oliver Gates which require further proof or explanation.
I;"> Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? yes Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? yes If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned for his not doing so? Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? yes * Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled? yes Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? yes Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? yes Has the Court given their opinion? yes Has the Clerk given his certificate? yes Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? yes

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? yes
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it?
XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had?
XIV. † If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility? no
Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under his seal of office? yes
XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service? yes
XVI. ‡ Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? no .
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? yes .
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
* QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
“Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades: For _____ year _____ months and _____ days. I served as a _____. For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension.”

It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable.
†QUERE XIV. Proof of Service.
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
‡QUERE XVI. Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticated the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the end of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.